Lepan’s Shadow

Lepan's Shadow, an international mystery that spans decades and continents, triggered by a death in Chile's Atacama Desert.

Cliff West, a retired professor from New Zealand, hauls the body of renowned anthropologist Antoine Lepan from a steam-shrouded hot pool in Chile's Atacama Desert. A young boy is blamed for Lepan's death. To absolve the boy, Cliff must discover how the Frenchman met his fate on their pre-conference tour. If he can do this, Cliff believes it will ease the work-induced burden he carries for an earlier tragedy in his own family.

"Our professions aren't that different," Cliff tells the detective investigating Lepan's death. "Ask the right questions, analyse the data, interpret your findings, draw your conclusions."

Long haunted by the cost of his own outwardly successful career, Cliff focuses on the impacts of academic ambition and deceit. As the truth about Lepan unfolds, people and events from the past intersect with present-day conflicts and danger in the Atacama.

How far does Lepan's shadow reach?

Who pays the price of academic ambition?